How Then Shall We Live?

If it is true that there is coming unprecented tribulation and revival; how then shall we live?

When God started to grip my heart with the urgency of the hour; I found myself many times getting up off the floor from weeping in prayer and have to go to work. It was often times painful for me to be filled with the urgency then have to go through the humdrum of life in working, paying bills, needing to rest, etc. I wanted impact; to take action and to accomplish the task! If a storm is coming, let’s do something about it!

I knew that to just simply ignore the urgency found in the words of Jesus was not the answer. I did not want to escape the reality of coming judgement or dull my heart with entertainment. I did not want to just focus on other subjects in the Bible to get away from the uncomfortable feelings of coming judgement. I want Jesus. I want Truth. No matter how it feels, I want what’s real. And if what the Bible is saying is true, then that really does change things. There must be some sort of response that goes beyond the norm. Business as usual won’t cut it.

Many people say that no one can ever know for sure what is coming and that God will give grace for whatever comes. I believe that we can have a general sense of clarity as we devote time to studying God’s word. God does give grace; and giving us His word ahead of time is part of it. Could you imagine any of the patriarchs of scripture not paying attention to what God said to do and then stepped up to the task unprepared? Could you imagine if Daniel did not pay attention to Jeremiah’s prophecy about the end of the 70 years?

The first place the Lord led me to in my questioning was putting my attention on the truth that He is “our hope of Glory.” Everything really will be okay, for all who love Jesus, in the end. Jesus is sovereign and victorious. He is good and leads with perfection. Jesus is our blessed assurance; we can have peace as we rest in Him. It is the knowledge of His faithfulness that steadies our hearts. He is faithful to all of His promises. He is faithful to keep us firm to the end. When everything is shaking we will not be shaken if we are trusting in Him. The Apostles were tortured and imprisoned, but In Christ, were full of Joy. This grace is available to all who would receive Him. Jesus is to be our primary focus and our testimony. Through every season we look to Him and direct others to Him.

Jesus repeatedly said to watch and pray when He talked about end time events. In this place of resting in the knowledge of God through intimacy with Christ we are able to watch and pray with clarity and hope. This takes time. It is choosing to quiet down our hearts in the midst of a busy life. This means saying no to other things. This practically looks like opening the Bible and talking with God. One of the most powerful weapons in the Church’s hand is prayer. This is where we release angels and shift atmospheres.

The Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7 clearly lays out how we are to live. It gives the most straight forward and practical ways to respond in the day to day of life. Jesus shows us what He is looking for in how we steward our time, energy, relationships, finance, etc. He explains how He wants us to respond to temptation and offense. In chapter 7 Jesus says that it is wisdom to obey His words and to teach others to do the same. Those who obey Him are like one who builds his house on the rock; when the storm comes it remains standing. The one who does not obey is like one who built his house on sand; when the storm comes it is swept away. This storm implies the trials of life, but I also believe this principle can be ultimately applied to the storm that comes at the end of the age. I highly recommend knowing these 3 chapters and letting them be the vision of your life before God. A few resources that have been helpful fo me in going deeper are..